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Trouble in the Air

Millions of Americans Breathed Polluted Air in 2018

A report created by Environment America Research & Policy Center, USPIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group
Written by Morgan Folger, Environment America Research & Policy Center, Matt Casale, U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Elizabeth Ridlington and Gideon Weissman, Frontier GroupDOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORTDOWNLOAD A FACTSHEET

We should all be able to breathe clean air. It’s true that the days of thick smog making it difficult to see the mountains in the distance, or even see a building clearly a few blocks away are largely behind us. But people across America still regularly breathe dirty air that increases their risk of premature death and can trigger asthma and other adverse health effects.

Our report shows that the air in your community is probably not as clean as you might think. In 2018, 108 million Americans lived in areas that experienced more than 100 days of degraded air quality. That is equal to more than three months of the year in which ground-level ozone (the main ingredient in smog) and/or particulate pollution was above the level that the EPA has determined presents “little to no risk.” These Americans live in 89 large and small urban areas, and in 12 rural counties. Millions more Americans are exposed to damaging levels of air pollution, but less frequently.

Each year, millions of Americans suffer from adverse health impacts linked to air pollution, and tens of thousands have their lives cut short.

• Fine particulate matter from sources such as vehicles and power plants was responsible for an estimated 107,000 premature deaths in the U.S. in 2011.1

• Air pollution is linked to health problems including respiratory illness, heart attack, stroke, cancer and mental health problems. Research continues to reveal new health impacts. For example, maternal exposure to air pollution such as fine particulates (PM2.5) and ozone is associated with a higher risk of low birth weight, pre-term birth and stillbirth.2 For older adults, long-term exposure to particulate pollution has been associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.3

• Air pollution’s effects are pronounced among vulnerable populations, including children, pregnant women and the elderly. Research has found that children exposed to particulate pollution can suffer from lung development problems and long-term harm to lung function.4

• Levels of air pollution that meet current federal air quality standards can be harmful to health, especially with prolonged exposure. Researchers can detect negative health impacts, such as increased premature deaths, for people exposed to pollution at levels the EPA considers “good” or “moderate.”5 Current federal standards are less stringent than those recommended by the World Health Organization.6 Moreover, the EPA cautions that unusually sensitive people may experience health effects at “moderate” levels. For these reasons, the analysis in this report includes air pollution at or above the level the EPA labels “moderate,” corresponding with a rating yellow or higher in its Air Quality Index.

California, July 6, 2018

U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Dylan Chagnon

Global warming will make air pollution worse.

The U.S. Global Change Research Program’s Fourth National Climate Assessment warns that unless the nation acts to improve air quality, “climate change will worsen existing air pollution levels. This worsened air pollution would increase the incidence of adverse respiratory and cardiovascular health effects, including premature death.”7

Climate change will worsen air pollution in several ways, including:

• Rising temperatures will speed up the formation of ozone. According to one study, people in the Northeast, Midwest and Southwest will experience three to nine more days of ozone pollution at or above the level the U.S. EPA considers “unhealthy for sensitive groups” annually by 2050 compared to 2000 because of higher temperatures.8

• Hotter, drier weather will increase the frequency and severity of wildfires, which create particulate pollution, contribute to smog, and can spread air pollution for hundreds of miles.

Millions of Americans live in urban and rural areas that experience frequent ozone and/or particulate pollution.

• 108 million Americans lived in the 89 large and small urban areas and 12 rural counties that experienced more than 100 days of degraded air quality in 2018.

• Another 157 million Americans resided in the 264 large and small urban areas and 61 rural counties that faced 31 to 100 days — a month or more — of elevated ozone and/or particulate pollution. The communities included major urban areas such as the District of Columbia and Miami, and smaller communities such as Racine, Wisconsin, and Columbia, Missouri.

The troubled ten

Most metropolitan areas in the U.S. experience elevated levels of air pollution. Below are the 10 most populated metropolitan areas in the U.S. which experienced more than 100 days of elevated air pollution levels in 2018.

People in every state face health risks from ground-level ozone pollution.

• Thirty-eight urban areas and rural counties, which are home to more than 21 million people, experienced more than 100 days of ozone pollution in 2018. Such frequent ozone pollution affected people living in communities in California, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming.

• Residents of another 228 large and small urban areas and rural counties encountered air with elevated levels of ozone pollution on 31 to 100 days in 2018. That means that for one to three months in 2018, up to 170 million Americans were exposed to elevated ozone pollution. Those rural counties and urban areas were located in 45 different states, plus the District of Columbia.

Recommendations

Air pollution already harms the health of millions of Americans around the country, and cuts short tens of thousands of lives each year. Climate change will make it worse. Many solutions that address the climate challenge will also improve air quality. Policymakers at the federal, state and local levels should look to implement policies that:

• Reduce emissions from transportation, the largest source of global warming pollution in the U.S. and a major source of air pollution in many communities.9 Policies to reduce global warming and air pollution include expanded use of zero-emission vehicles, regional programs to cap pollution from transportation, and support for active transportation such as walking and biking.

• Move the country away from fossil fuels — which are a major source of climate pollution in transportation, electricity generation and buildings — and toward the use of clean, renewable energy such as wind turbines and solar panels.

Kelly Bishop et al., The National Bureau of Economic Research, Hazed and Confused: The Effect of Air Pollution on Dementia, DOI: 10.3386/w24970, revised August 2019, available at https://www.nber.org/papers/w24970.

L. Shen, L.J. Mickley and E. Gilleland, “Impact of Increasing Heat Waves on U.S. Ozone Episodes in the 2050s: Results from a Multimodel Analysis Using Extreme Value Theory,” Geophysical Research Letters, 43:4017-4025, 25 April 2016, doi:10.1002/2016GL068432, p. 4023. The study looks at ozone above 75 ppb, which is in the range the EPA considers “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” per U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, The National Ambient Air Quality Standards: Updates to the Air Quality Index (AQI) for Ozone and Ozone Monitoring Requirements, 1 October 2015, available at https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-10/documents/20151001_ai....

Environment America Research and Policy Center is part of The Public Interest Network, which operates and supports organizations committed to a shared vision of a better world and a strategic approach to getting things done.